Insights from BCC Research

Q&A: Companion Diagnostics & Personalized Medicine

Editor's Note: This BCC Research live event took place in 2017 in San Diego, CA.

Ahead of the November 9th event in San Diego with analyst Marianna Tcherpakov and Senior Editor Robert G. Hunter, we asked Marianna a few questions about her presentation, which covers the market for a few of the fastest growing trends in therapeutics and diagnostics. Be sure to reserve your seat today, as space at the event is limited.

From where does your interest in companion diagnostics stem?

I think that personalized medicine is a very popular, upcoming and expanding trend in general. I wrote the first report a couple of years ago when the subject was still in its beginning, and it is very interesting to see how much it has evolved—new companies, new regulations, new approaches. In the beginning, it was a budding, new idea, but generally speaking, the whole trend in the industry of personalized medicine and companion diagnostics is becoming a must-have for certain drugs.

How will your discussion relate to Robert G. Hunter’s presentation on personalized medicine?

Robert wrote the last update on the report, and he will be the main presenter. I will present on liquid biopsy and exosomes and markets that evolved together with companion diagnostics.

What are a few main topics you will cover?

I am talking more about the market for liquid biopsy, which is a blood test. Instead of taking the tissue, you are taking the blood and you are taking sequencing and PCR to detect the tumor. I’m also covering exosomes—which is a new platform to test the biomarker. Also, in the presentation, I am going to cover general definitions, because not everyone knows what it is, and how it is applicable to companion diagnostics.

Who is the intended audience—scientists, investors, healthcare professionals, etc.—and what do you hope they walk away with knowing?

This presentation is more of a networking opportunity for people in healthcare and investor and business backgrounds to understand what companion diagnostics or liquid biopsy is and how it can be profitable. We are going to explain what the opportunities are.

How will attendees be able to use and apply the information from this presentation?

I think it is important to note that I think it will be interesting mostly to health professionals—maybe a little less for scientists. I will explain scientific backgrounds, but I won’t focus on specifics. The idea is to show how to take some technology in science and translate into business. For example, the technology may be “so sexy” and “trendy,” but in the end—how are you going to turn it into money? Is it going to grow? Grow fast? Who are the major players? As an investor, is there any potential, are there any players? How fast is it going to grow? I will provide more of a general perspective on this new market. Scientists are welcome, but this will not be a discussion of new drug development—here it’s more practical. We are working from the business perspective: How fast are we going and where are we going?